CLEVELAND -- José Soriano tossed six scoreless innings and Mike Trout had a single in his return from a bruised left knee as the Angels beat the Guardians, 4-1, on Friday night at Progressive Field.
Trout went 1-for-5 in his first game back after spending 26 games on the injured list. The three-time American League MVP started at designated hitter and batted fifth, two spots below his customary spot.
Soriano, who leads qualified MLB pitchers with a 66.7 percent groundball rate, induced three double plays and recorded 14 outs in the infield. The right-hander scattered four hits and four walks while striking out a pair, only allowing one runner past second base.
“I feel pretty good, and I was working the zone pretty well,” Soriano said through an interpreter. “Even the walks I had were good walks because I was just missing throwing strikes.”
The Guardians’ only serious threat was in the fourth, when they loaded the bases on two-out singles from Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana and a walk to Daniel Schneemann.
Unlike earlier in his career, however, Soriano (4-5) was unfazed by the situation and struck out Gabriel Arias on four pitches. He finished the inning with a 97.9 mph sinker that Arias whiffed on.
“I feel great because I didn’t have any panic in that situation,” Soriano said.
Neither did Angels manager Ron Washington, who beamed like a proud father when the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder returned to the dugout.
“He was outstanding, and he has the stuff to go out there and be one of the best pitchers in the league,” Washington said. “He’s still young, still learning, but when he’s got his sinker working, he gets a lot of ground balls.
“When you keep the ball on the ground, you’ve got a good shot every game.”
That’s especially true when Soriano faces the Guardians, against whom he notched a career-high nine strikeouts on April 4 at Angel Stadium.
Soriano has been even better at Progressive Field, going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 12 innings across two starts. He gave up five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in his first outing in Cleveland on May 3, 2024.
“I feel great about the work I’ve been putting in and the results I have been getting,” said Soriano, who has three scoreless outings of at least six innings in 2025. “I feel good. Very good.”
Jorge Soler drove in two runs on a homer and a single, and Jo Adell had an RBI single for the Angels, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Scott Kingery scored their other run on a passed ball.
Cleveland’s José Ramírez had his career-long hitting streak snapped at 21 games.
“His sinker was moving a ton today,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “You’re trying to lift it, but it was running and diving more than normal. He was also able to land his curveball whenever he needed a strike. He just had it all working.”